NASH 75: Day One Overview

So, today I have decided to give you all a little run down of everything that has gone on – for me, that is – during the 75th anniversary of NASH, thanks to the amazing hosting abilities of the Canadian University Press.

Arriving in Toronto

My fellow fulcrumites and I arrived at the conference Wednesday afternoon, after a morning of being up in the air, floating on the water, busing down the streets and swaying on the Subway. The first day was mostly dedicated to getting ourselves registered, collecting all of our hotel keys – which was a lot, seeing as we have about twenty Fulcrum representatives attending this conference – and then getting ourselves settled in our rooms before dinner, and the amazing dessert’s to follow.

The big event of the night was traveling to the Toronto CBC headquarters, which was something permanently etched into my memories as being one of the most unbelievably mind blowing experiences of my life. Even now, as I sit here writing this, I can hardly believe that I was there.

I took this photo from the bus as we were leaving, as a self reminder that this was not something that had been conjured up by my over active imagination.

Aspiring journalists, and those who work in the news already, were all present at this gala event, dressed to the nines and ready to mingle with their fellow journalists. If I hadn’t already been stuffed by the exquisite meal prepared by the cooks at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, then I would have indulged myself in the scrumptious little ordoeuvre’s that were constantly being offered.

Fortunately, the guest speakers they had gave me more than enough reason to divert my attention from the tantalizing food. From the CBC’s Heather Hitchcock to online comedy artist Kate Beaton, there was not a moment where I wasn’t in a state of complete awe.

After this amazing gala, it was finally time to head back to the hotel. It felt to take those high heeled shoes off and relax, knowing that the main conference’s main attraction was going to commence the very next morning.

That was my first day at NASH, in a nutshell. It was nothing like I had expected to be …. it was a hundred times better! Good food, good friends, new encounters and thought provoking speeches, I knew it was going to be the start of something truly amazing. I give my thanks to CUP (Canadian University Press) for organizing this event, the volunteers who helped put it together and made sure everything ran smoothly, and those incredible guest speakers who took time out of their busy schedules to share their journalistic experience and advice with those of us who hope to be in the same place that they are one day.

Tomorrow, I will move on to the second day of NASH 75, which I can assure you was just as exciting, if not more, than the first day. Until then, happy reading!